Songs and Swords
by xCanaan
Summary: Nike didn't always have such mastery of the songs which commanded the very winds, rains, and thunder that her grandmother taught her. So when her small island nation that her ancestors have guided for countless generations is under threat, the world sends a guardian to protect those who could influence its domain. [One-shot for Now]


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 **/-=- Songs and Swords-=-\**

"Talking normally," said Nike.

 _'Thinking to myself,'_ thought Nike

 _ **"It's a tender rain…"**_ sang Nike.

 **/-=- Chapter 001 – Of Wind and Rain-=-\**

A little girl stood out among towering trees, obscuring the blue skies that flew overhead. Her eyes tightly squeezed shut as if in deep concentration, with orange-cream hair fell just past her shoulders.

The gentle sun's rays softly trickled through the canopy, illuminating the forest floor that her bare feet rest upon. A low breeze flowed through the greenery causing the sounds of leaves rustling as the invisible force danced around the trees.

With the salty kiss of the breeze, she took a deep breath, her emerald eyes opened; rivaling the immense green forest in its intensity, and parted her lips with words that were quietly sung as she immersed herself in her surroundings.

The breeze picked up, coiling around the trees and her petite form as if her tender words had tamed the wind itself. The air, having answered her call, flowed around her body, the modest dress she wore shifted from the breeze tickling her body, and hair picked up in the wind as it flowed back and forth across her back.

 **/-=-|-=-|-=-|-=-\**

A man sat upon a hill amongst the dusty landscape, large metal gears hung from the sky almost as if they were suspended by a mysterious force that held them high up in the orange sky. His eyes closed as they basked in the moment of respite, but would never give him the rest he deserved.

His white hair shifted at the touch of a gentle breeze and his eyes of steel opened, taking the sight of thousands of rusted epitaphs impaled into the crusty desert soil. But the view did not bother him, for he had long become accustom to the somber sight.

A scowl formed on his face and his body became rigid. He could hear something, someone calling him. A voice that seemed to belong to someone of younger years. Coming to his feet, the steel-eyed man swept his gaze across the sword-covered field to find the source of the lyrics that increased in clarity as the seconds ticked by. But he could not find anything from which the words came from.

Was it another grail war? No, this didn't feel like his last summoning and a child being a master in a grail war would be in poor taste, even for a corrupted grail.

Perhaps it was Alaya wanting him to commit another slaughter in a hopeless bid to prevent the fall of man or maybe to even break his spirit even further in service to the "will of mankind." He had never heard the call of a song before being summoned to do its dirty work. The manifestation of humanity's unconsciousness had no flare nor need for this type of calling.

No, this voice seemed too at peace, filled an innocent enthusiasm, to be related to another war or a call from Alaya.

More words were spoken out, but this time from a different voice, an older, motherly voice, from behind him. The counter-guardian twisted his body and came face to face upon this visitor.

 **/-=-|-=-|-=-|-=-\**

Her song continued, her spirit becoming elated at whatever she had come out to do and continued to sing her lyrics in earnest.

She so was close! This would be the day she would finally succeed in summoning the wind and rain! No longer would her sisters look down at her for being a failure and show grandmother that she was indeed a princess of the Rain Kingdom!

A eager smile graced her lips as her words danced alongside the breeze, and was just as she was about to move onto the next stage of her song.

Something went wrong.

The wind increased in intensity, becoming a howling gust, whipping her cream-colored hair across her face, which now had a bead of bitter sweat trickling down the down of her face. Desperate to rein the wind back to a soft breeze, she doubled her efforts, becoming more focused and intense.

However, the wind could not be tamed so easily, for the nature of the wind is to bend to no man, and resisted her lyrics as the young girl's emotions were thrown into a state of panic. For the more you fight against the flow, the more it resists, but the young girl did not understand the temperament of the wind.

The soft rays of light disappeared, plunging the forest below into a dreary gray.

Something was going wrong, this wasn't supposed to happen. Her nerves began to fray at the thought of the scolding her grandmother would give her if she was discovered. She wasn't supposed to be practicing by herself, but she could not just bring herself to stop when she was so close! She just did not want to fail her grandmother's expectations despite putting in so much effort into learning her family's gift.

The sharp crack of lightning thundered through the grove of trees, illuminating the forest for a split second and revealing menacing shadows borne from the harsh light of nature's wrath. Trickles of rain, soon turning into a downpour blanketed the forest as it fell from the dark, leafy branches. More thunder boomed through the air and her song came to an abrupt halt as the girl involuntarily let out a terrified yelp.

However, the storm continued even after her lyrics came to an end, as if the world was punishing her for the audacity to control it. This wasn't supposed to happen, she only tried to control the wind! No one else could harness the rain and wind at the same time!

A crack of lightning struck the tree closest to her and exploded into barrage of splinters that rained upon the frightened girl. Terrified, she ran through the forest, ducked and weaved through the grove of trees as the wind howled and lightning screeched as it chased after her fleeting form.

Her breaths became labored and heavy as her energy began to sap away, already exhausted from her earlier attempt at discovering her song. She saw a hollowed-out tree trunk with dull and gray roots, and ran towards it. She felt a burning sensation in her left hand, but was ignored from the immense fear from the carnage that took place around her.

But in her haste, she became careless and failed to notice a dead root that stuck out from the forest floor. Her foot caught the branch and toppled forward, her ankle bent at an angle that for sure had sprained it and fell, face first, onto the hard soil, falling into darkness as unconsciousness overtook her.

 **/-=-|-=-|-=-|-=-\**

Both the red-clad man and the newcomer, dressed in a pure-white gown and jade eyes that rivaled the splendor of the Earth itself, stood across from one another on the field of swords. Their gazes fixed upon the other, trying to ascertain each other's nature, one failing while the other already understanding.

The counter-guardian parted his lips to continue his line of query, with his words being carried on the gentle breeze that stirred the dust. Their back and forth banter went on with his questions only receiving vague answers and redirections, frustrating him to no end.

The beauty dressed in white softly giggled to herself at the expense and dismay of her partner-in-wordplay. Like a chorus of an angel he idly mused, for being of supernatural origins were usually unique in certain regards, but mindset and his exposure to women of supernatural beauty had numbed him somewhat to her allure.

Her soft laughter danced around the two of them, combining with the young voice that continued to sing her libretto in the background.

Suddenly the young girl's voice that sang in the background came to an abrupt halt and the very-reality of his world trembled, as if someone had picked up his self-contained world and violently shook it, angry at the sudden end of the performance. But neither of them seem to falter despite the intense shaking underneath their feet.

The two individuals scrutinized the other as they came to a silent agreement. The mysterious woman's face contorted into a pained smile that did not suit her, but did little to hamper her beauty. Dissipating into motes of blue light, she left the white-haired man once again alone, but was not done with him.

The voice called out in desperation, the same adolescent voice that used to be filled with eagerness and happiness, now frightened and filled with dread.

The counter-guardian took a deep breath and steeled himself for whatever gruesome scene or impossible situation awaited him on the other end.

He answered the call and disappeared from the world of unlimited blades.

 **/-=-|-=-|-=-|-=-\**

The heroic spirit took in his new surroundings, a forest amid a howling rainstorm that pelted his form. There was something unusual about this storm, he noted, like something had summoned it instead of being a natural formation for the sensation of mana in the air was so palpable, one could cut it with a mundane knife. This looked like the work of a Caster or some weather-controlling noble phantasm and immediately went on guard for any sudden attack.

Noting nothing dangerous in his immediate presence, except the crack of lightning that rang every so often and howling wind that would have chilled him to the bone if he were but a regular human, he changed his goal to finding whoever had called for him, his instincts heightened even the faintest hint of danger.

He redirected his attention to his inner eye, focusing on the newly formed bond that links him to his master, and his eyebrows shot up in surprise. The supply of mana that came from his summoner was vast, something he would attribute to the higher-nobles of the Clocktower, no… even stronger. However, the flow was wild, untamed, and sporadic.

Setting out to find his would-be master, his boots squished against the muddy soil as he trekked through the storm, and idly redirected a stray branch that flew in his direction with a quick swipe of his hand as he neared his target.

He peeked around a large dead tree that had its trunk hollowed out, and in front of the opening laid the crumpled form a young girl as it she laid in the muddy path. Her long orange-cream hair, white dress, and fair skin soiled by the dark murky dirt that stained her unconscious form.

A child this young out in the forest in the middle of a raging storm? His inner-cynic laughing at the idea that this young girl was his master, but alas it seemed that the bond that kept his form stable was indeed coming from this girl.

Muttering quietly to himself at his own misfortune, the servant neared the fallen adolescent and noted she was a bit older than she first appeared. Just a girl on the cusp of becoming a young woman in her formative years, perhaps around eleven or twelve, with sharp features that adorned her face, giving her a tomboyish look.

The mana he was receiving from her had solidified into an uneasy stream that was more-or-less stable, maybe from her unconscious state rendering her less emotional. It would be far vaster if she wasn't supporting his existence. Perhaps his presence was stabilizing her flow of mana? Regardless, her impressive reservoir suggested she came from an old and distinguished magus family, but those were questions to be answered later.

Observing her state, he noticed her ankle was red and swollen and appeared as if she had run quite a way before her unfortunate exhaustion as evident from the mud that caked her legs and footprints littered along the path. Was something chasing her? Nothing indicated as such. The only thing unusual was his master being a young girl alone in the depths of a forest and this unnatural storm that raged overhead.

Pushing aside those thoughts for now, the red-clad servant kneeled and placed his much larger arms underneath her knees and along her back, lifted her up from the forest floor, and begun his trek down the forest path.

 **/-=-|-=-|-=-|-=-\**

The manor was in an uproar, a powerful storm had been called from seemingly nowhere outside the regularly scheduled summoning, and all the prominent family members who held the gift were in combat with the rogue storm.

The guards rushed back and forth, reinforcing and protecting whatever they could of the oriental styled buildings as the wood creaked and groaned from the intensity of the wind and rain that pelted it. Amongst the scrambling adults, a young boy was frantic as he weaved through the adults. He was looking for his best-friend and confidant who he hadn't seen all morning. The boy had checked her room, the storehouse, the tower, and other places he could think of where the two of them were usually found, even the library despite his friend dreading to be in because of their constant and strict lessons. But despite all his effort, he could not find her.

He stopped in the middle of the open passageway and turned his gaze to the inner courtyard.

An elderly woman stood in the middle of the manor grounds, singing aloud to seemingly no one as she tried to calm the howling storm. Her efforts granting some relief to the tired and frantic men as the downpour lessen to a drizzle.

Becoming even more desperate and seizing the opportunity, he rushed towards the elderly woman, breaking her from her musing just as the elder contains the storm around the manor. The guards surrounding her broke apart at her behest, allowing the boy to come forward.

Relaying his concerns to the old woman, her eyes widened in surprise and her gaze swung frantically about as she counted off her grandchildren who stood around the courtyard drenched in rain and sweat. But her piercing green eyes could not find her youngest granddaughter.

Shouting out her orders—that even her personal guard obeyed-, the men organized themselves and broke into search parties for the missing princess.

Her lips pursed into a thin line. Perhaps her granddaughter had summoned the storm in response to something terrible being afflicted upon her. Her mind traitorously wandered to worst-case scenarios. Maybe a spy from the Sun or Ocean kingdom, or even another lesser nation, had infiltrated the grounds and kidnapped the Princess in a bid to gain leverage over them. The Rain Kingdom certainly held many resources and trade routes that brought in much wealth their small nation, not to mention their family's _gift_ bringing prosperity and stability to their people. These traits much their small nation a prime target for larger more powerful nations, but they held strong for hundreds of years.

However, Nike did not have the same safety net her other grandchildren had for she had yet to gain the slightest hint of proficiency at their ancestral songs and was but a mere child that could do little to defend herself against the machinations of those with ill intent.

Thanking the young boy in front of her for bringing this urgent news to her, she committed herself to the search alongside her eldest son, who's eyes were filled in worry as any parent would have for their missing daughter, and the duo sets off to join the men in the search.

 **/-=-|-=-|-=-|-=-\**

Further down the forest path, the servant, along with child in his arms, stepped out in to a meadow surrounded by trees that the narrow path bisected. The rain had let up considerably, becoming nothing more than a faint sprinkle and lightning long stopped.

The girl in his arms slept soundly, even snuggling into his chest for warmth, as her chest slowly rose and fell with the passing of each of her breaths and was still covered all over with cuts and bruises that would have to be treated soon to prevent infection, but held was no immediate danger.

Spotting an old fallen trunk, he carefully laid the girl against the log and traced a simple handkerchief that he used to wipe the mud from the girl's face, stirring slightly from something touching her face. The dirtied cloth dissipated into the air as he nonchalantly tossed it away.

His gaze fell upon the girl's right hand, noting the very familiar command sigils engraved upon the young girl's fair skin, in what seemed to be in the shape of a water droplet fragmented into many pieces.

Yet something was amiss. He turned his inner-haze outward, looking for the signs.

Nothing… Nothing… Why wasn't there something!?

He had not received any information about his summoning, no influx of information from a holy grail. This was not an ordinary summoning of a heroic spirit as there was no grail to support his existence.

Steel eyes snapped to the little girl, who shivered in her sleep since she was no longer in his embrace, and eyes softened as he saw her unconsciousness search for warmth. Tracing a thermal blanket, he wrapped the young girl in the shiny, insulative layer and sat on the log next to her.

Letting out a long sigh of fatigue and the onset of a headache coming onto him, his view turned towards the sky, noting an impressive rainbow so tangible it was almost as if he could reach up and touch it. The buzz of mana in the air gone from whatever had formed the freak weather, and the birds and insects had returned to their familiar songs of the forest, populating a salty ocean breeze with chirping and buzzing.

"Mmmm" The sound of a low-moan brought him away from his nature-induced stupor, noticing that his young charge was coming to consciousness. The girl slowly rose from the underneath the reflective material that blanketed her form. Smacking her lips as she positions herself upright and absentmindedly takes in the scenery around her.

Her view eventually turned toward the red-clad man and glistening jade eyes locked with ones of gray-steel. Her green eyes widened to comically large proportions as she realized there was a large, foreign tanned man sitting in front of her. The servant parted his lips to speak, but the young girl beat him to the punch with something he wasn't really expecting.

"KYA!" Screeched the surprised girl with an ear-piercing sound. "PERVERT!"

Groaning for what seemed to be the billionth time in his life, he mumbled to himself as he idly looked at the girl who had dashed to the other side of the log with a menacing look on her face. Even going so far as to break off a branch from the log and using it as she threateningly pointed her _deadly_ weapon at him as he sat-unmoving-from his place on the other end of the trunk.

' _I always get unusual masters, don't I Rin_?'

 **/-=- Chapter 001 END -=-\**

 **Authors Notes**

 **Here's the first chapter of my new story,** _ **Songs and Swords**_ **, a crossover between** _ **Fate**_ **and** _ **The World Is Still Beautiful**_ **, a rather underappreciated shoujo anime/manga that is a personal favorite of mine.**

 **Just a little something that I cooked up when I was going through some bad writer's block for my other stories. It was a nice exercise.**

 **This Archer is Post-UBW Archer, and another thing to note is that Nike's name is pronounced '** _ **knee-kei', not 'nai-ki' (like the sports-brand).**_

 **Please leave a review for commenting, feedback, and thoughts!**


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